Canola GMO Standards

By: Kurt Vorburger, AnalytiX Lab Info 3

RT73, OXY235, LibertyLink Falcon® MS8xRf3 ......... The use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) is still a widely debated topic in Europe. Consumers in the European Union are wary of GMOs and indeed many retailers avoid stocking foods containing them.

However, in order to measure the presence or absence of GMOs a suitable standard is required. This new range of GMO Canola Standards contains new and exclusive varieties, which will enable you to easily identify manipulated canola.

Introduction

The use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) is still a widely debated topic in Europe. Consumers in the European Union are wary of GMOs and indeed many retailers avoid stocking foods containing them.

In April 2004 the legislation regarding the labelling of genetically modified foods and feed products changed. This new legislation requires that even highly modified foods such as lecithin, starch and oil, as well as feed products containing GMOs are labelled clearly as such.

Canola is routinely used for the production of oil. The resulting byproduct, canola grist, is then incorporated into feed products. Canola is now, therefore, subject to the new labelling legislation, requiring more stringent control and labelling than was previously required.

However, in order to measure the presence or absence of GMOs a suitable standard is required, which has historically been difficult to source. This new range of GMO Canola Standards from Sigma- Aldrich, contains new and exclusive varieties, which will enable you to easily identify manipulated canola.

Description

These new GMO standards contain RT73-, OXY235-, LibertyLink Falcon® or MS8xRf3-canola DNA, extracted from actual plant material. Total Canola DNA is comprised of approximately 1% of GMO DNA. This GMO DNA was extracted as described in the official protocols. The extracted DNA was quantified and diluted to form a 1% solution, which was then aliquoted and lyophilised, enabling a longer storage period.

There are numerous benefits to be gained from the use of these standards:

The process of DNA extraction for use as a positive control can be avoided, thereby eliminating the need for time-consuming manual extraction procedures.

Since the DNA is extracted from plant material, the application of these standards is no longer limited to a certain sequence information or protocol. Therefore, it is possible to use them with all DNA–based methods and even with your own optimized protocols.

The world wide availability of GMO standards having the same characteristics and composition can ensure the standardization of measurements and procedures, allowing comparison of results obtained in different facilities.

Use

The new GMO standards are used solely as qualitative standards. The DNA is lyophilised and can be used as a positive control after resolution. The native canola content of the samples is approximately 100 times higher than GMO canola.